New year, new you, new ways to promote

If growth is your goal in 2025, this is going to be a good year. You now have three easy ways to take your membership to the next level, whether that means increasing your earnings or adding new members to your community.

TIP 1: Run a discount

Set a limited-time discount to create urgency and lower the barrier for new and free members. Try lining up your discounts with popular holidays to take advantage of times fans are in the shopping spirit. On Black Friday, fans spent 250% more on discounted memberships across thousands of creators who offered a sale.

We’ve found that a 50% discount tends to be the most popular amount to offer, and the most effective at driving redemptions. OfflineTV offered half off to their fans and laid out exactly what members get with their membership, from behind-the-scenes and bonus work to monthly collectible pin drops and exclusive merch.

If you want a hand setting your discount, you can also turn on free member upgrade offers in Autopilot, which will automatically send out smart offers on your behalf within a discount range you’re comfortable with.

TIP 2: Update your tier prices

 Whether you need to account for the rising costs of business or added membership value, the new year is a great time to refresh your prices. You can choose to update the prices for all your members (including existing members) or only for new members.

After a few years building their Patreon, Target Audience increased their tier prices for new members so that their prices would mirror the quality and quantity of their videos. To encourage fans to join before the price changed, they offered a limited-time deal of 80% off their first month, letting new members lock in popular tiers at a lower price and simultaneously communicating the upcoming changes.

“Running the discount and repricing my tiers while allowing legacy members to remain at their current price was a big win," Target Audience says. "The ‘last chance’ discount gave me a boost in new membership before taking the risk of raising prices, and the new prices have not deterred new sign-ups.”

TIP 3: Bring fans in with a complimentary month of membership

Bundle a free month of membership with a promotional message for the new year. This could be a great way to reach out to canceled members and encourage them to rejoin. Or you can use it as a way to drive fans from places like your email newsletter or community groups.

For their 10th anniversary livestream fundraiser at the start of the year, video game podcasters Kinda Funny gave away prizes to their community for every 10 Patreon gift memberships purchased (check out their Patreon pitch). They then shared the purchased gifts for fans to claim in a community gifting post to spread the love. Their livestream drove a 15% jump in paid members, and as a result, they started off January with 2.5x more earnings than the previous month.

What new growth tactics are you planning to try in the new year? Let us know in the comments.